Somehow I'm overly talktive tonight, so here's another thread: Does anyone have any imaginary friends or did anyone have any as a child?
I don't really have "imaginary" friends as in friends I made up myself, but I "talk" to TV characters or famous people even when I'm not looking at a picture of them or watching a show with them on it or anything. I used to do that as a child, and still sometimes do. I can almost "see" them from the corner of my eye, even though I know they're not real and I'm not hallucinating, I can "see" my daydreams when I got my eyes open as well.. ( okay, that does sound weirder than it is, trust me. ) anyways, I talk to them like I would to normal people, though I'm perfectly aware that they're not real and it helps me somehow.. but do you think that's healthy?^^
As a child I'd also have a few "real" imaginary friends and imagine that I was living somewhere else ( a boarding school being a common theme) ... probably to escape reality at home.
So, anyone else or am I just too weird?
I kind of "faked" having a few imaginary friends when I was little, just because I assumed that was what was expected of me. I didn't really believe in them, though.
I don't have imaginary friends nowadays either, but I spend a huge amount of time thinking about my fictional characters, mulling over their lives, and I'll often even be pretending I'm them while I'm walking around doing random things. When I was younger and had a friend IRL, we'd pretend to be these characters and play around together...now that I'm grown up and my friend has long since moved on, I can't do that anymore ops but I still do it in my head--which sometimes translates into writing. I do it so frequently that I even do it in my dreams sometimes. :?
Also when I was little I played with toy animals...those came closest to being my imaginary friends. I would pretend to be various characters of mine on audiocassette, and would do their voices and ad lib things. And yes, I grew very close to certain TV characters and such...I remember once I felt so bad having to miss an episode of my favorite show that I left an apology letter to the characters on my dresser! ops
For me none of this is bad, since it doesn't interfere with my daily life or socializing (since I do no socializing). So I see no harm in it; I even used to be able to use it as a coping mechanism, though I lost that ability. :sigh And like I said, some of it leads to actual writing, so it can be a creative process. I know there are some people for whom these traits are bothersome, though.
I had an imaginary friend when i was about 5 to 10 years old. It was a time when i was bullied alot and it was a terrible experience like many others have had but i guess that this imaginary friend was a way for me for getting away from the bullying i was experiencing and the pain that it was causing me to have mentally.
You are not weird but i think being weird is being an individual and being unique and if you think it is helping you then continue to do it.
I had imaginary friends when I was a kid, and it was as good as having real friends. But at some point, that stopped working. I still daydream a lot and imagine conversations in my head, sometimes I imagine friends that don't exist b/c I can't seem to meet people that I connect with.
The following will most likely sound completely insane but here goes...
I don't actually have an imaginary friend but I did build up a small castle in my mind. The main area is the Throne room but I occasionally visit the Garden.
I also created a number of characters to populate the castle. A lot of them are temporary characters but I do have a group of main characters. The Advisor is a good version of me and he wears a long white robe, whilst the guy who always tries to steal the castle is a bad version of me and wears a Dracula suit. The Throne Guard is a huge rhino in full plate armour and wielding a halberd. And lastly there's the Errand Boy who's a skinny little goblin.
When I'm bored it's a great place to roleplay and have a bit of fun. It's also a safe zone where I can go when I'm feeling extremely anxious. The two versions of myself are like an angel and devil providing advice when I really can't make up my mind about something.
It also gives me something to write about. I've developed a whole world with my small Kingdom in it. It's like The Lord of The Rings but nowhere near as amazing. I've never told anyone about this before....
The following will most likely sound completely insane but here goes...
I don't actually have an imaginary friend but I did build up a small castle in my mind. The main area is the Throne room but I occasionally visit the Garden.
I also created a number of characters to populate the castle. A lot of them are temporary characters but I do have a group of main characters. The Advisor is a good version of me and he wears a long white robe, whilst the guy who always tries to steal the castle is a bad version of me and wears a Dracula suit. The Throne Guard is a huge rhino in full plate armour and wielding a halberd. And lastly there's the Errand Boy who's a skinny little goblin.
When I'm bored it's a great place to roleplay and have a bit of fun. It's also a safe zone where I can go when I'm feeling extremely anxious. The two versions of myself are like an angel and devil providing advice when I really can't make up my mind about something.
It also gives me something to write about. I've developed a whole world with my small Kingdom in it. It's like The Lord of The Rings but nowhere near as amazing. I've never told anyone about this before....
I think that sounds pretty cool actually. I've been writing a novel for a while about a Queen and her bodyguard, which originally developed from daydreaming that I had this bodyguard to protect me from anxiety-inducing situations.
I have imaginary friends. Lots of them. My imagination has always been very active and once I started becomming more isolated, I used it to cope. This, I see nothing wrong with. I know very well that they aren't real and I don't see things or hear voices, so I don't think it's unhealthy. It's kind of like escaping into movies and books, only you're just making it up in your mind.
For me it's a coping mechanism for lonliness. Pretending not to be alone helps me. I've made up every detail of these people and know them better than I know any real ones (like characters in a book). They're living in my head so they can be there whenever, wherever I need to not feel alone. There's periods in my life where I haven't needed them, but when I get severely depressed or anxious it helps... my only concern is people finding out and thinking I'm insane. Like when I'm old, if I go senile or something and start rambling about these "people" no one's ever heard of... that could get awkward.
If it doesn't hurt yourself or anyone else, and helps you cope, I say it's okay.
I recall a quote I read once. I think John Lennon said it.
I believe in everything until it's disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it's in your mind. Who's to say that dreams and nightmares aren't as real as the here and now?
I have psychosis, which is like visual and audio hallucinations. With that, I've made up a specific person I called my best friend when I first developed S.A.D. I know she's imaginary. She's not real. But I still love talking to her. I was able to lucid dream a lot, and that's where I always talked to her - in my dreams. But then she came alive and I would visually see her as I was awake. I introduced her to my boyfriend at the time (this was years ago), and she would always tell me that he's a jerk and to get away from him. I should have listened to her...
I always have conversations with people who aren't really there and its crazy because i actually have a normal conversation and talk like a normal person but when I am actually with people i dont talk and I feel like my mind is just blank.
I've never imagined the same person twice which I think would make them an imaginary friend but I imagine I'm having conversations with friends, celebrities, co-workers, future boyfriends.
I've actually been doing something new recently that started with me wondering what I looked like to other people. I'll imagine that I'm standing in front of myself or sitting next to myself and I'll just go about my day. I won't have any pretend conversations with myself. For whatever reason, it's really comforting.
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